[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5617-5618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2218]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 1995 /
Notices
[[Page 5617]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 94-119-2]
Boll Weevil Control Program: Availability of Environmental
Assessment and Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact; Public
Hearing
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment and
preliminary finding of no significant impact for a proposed program to
eradicate the boll weevil in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. A copy
of the environmental assessment and preliminary finding of no
significant impact will be made available upon request; comments on the
documents are welcome. We also are announcing that a public hearing
will be held to provide a forum to explain findings in the
environmental assessment, to accept views, and to respond to questions.
DATES: Written comments on the environmental assessment and preliminary
finding of no significant impact must be received on or before March 1,
1995. Two public meetings will be held on February 16, 1995, one from 1
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and the other from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Pre-hearing
registration for oral participation at either hearing may be made by
mail (postmarked on or before February 8, 1995), or at the hearing site
on the date of the hearing, beginning one hour prior to each hearing.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the environmental assessment and preliminary
finding of no significant impact and requests for oral participation at
the hearings should be mailed to Vicki Wickheiser, Environmental
Analysis and Documentation, BBEP, APHIS, USDA, room 543, Federal
Building, 6505 Becrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. The public hearings
will be held in the Hoblitzelle Auditorium, Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station, 2415 East Highway 83, Weslaco, TX. Copies of the
environmental assessment and preliminary finding of no significant
impact (in English or Spanish) are available for review between 8 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays, at the APHIS
Reading Room, room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC. Persons wishing to inspect those documents
are requested to call ahead at (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into
the reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vicki Wickheiser at the address listed
above or by telephone at (301) 436-8963. Copies of the environmental
assessment and preliminary finding of no significant impact are
available in both English and Spanish and may be obtained by contacting
Ms. Wickheiser, or by calling Plant Protection and Quarantine, Central
Region Office, at (210) 504-4154.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has proposed
to cooperate in a boll weevil eradication program in the Lower Rio
Grande Valley of Texas in the counties of Brooks, Cameron, Hidalgo,
Starr, and Willacy. The proposed Lower Rio Grande Valley program would
rely on integrated control methods, including the use of chemicals, on
cotton crops.
On November 14, 1994 (59 FR 56458, Docket No. 94-119-1), we gave
notice of a public meeting to provide a forum for community input on
health and environmental issues associated with implementation of the
boll weevil control program. That meeting was held on November 29,
1994.
An environmental assessment (EA) is now available that analyzes the
potential effects of the program's alternatives and actions on the
quality of the human environment in the valley. The EA considers the
characteristics of the Lower Rio Grange Valley and focuses on the
potential effects of chemical pesticides. Because of the presence of
communities in proximity to cotton fields, certain program
modifications and some additional protective measures have been
proposed. Such protective measures are designed to reduce the potential
for adverse environmental effects. After reviewing the EA, the
decisionmaker has found preliminarily that no significant impact would
result from the implementation of the proposed program. This
preliminary finding, together with the underlying environmental
assessment, will be made available for public review for a period of 30
days before a final determination is made concerning the need to
prepare an environmental impact statement and before the action may
begin.
In furtherance of important policy objectives including
``environmental justice,'' two public hearings have been scheduled to
provide members of the public with an opportunity to express their
views or question agency officials regarding the proposed program and
the EA and preliminary finding of no significant impact. Any interested
person may appear and may be heard in person, by attorney, or by other
representative. Persons who wish to speak may register in advance by
mail (see the ADDRESSES section of this notice), or in person at the
hearing site. To register by mail, individuals should send a letter or
postcard with their name and affiliation (e.g., farm worker, grower, or
academician) and should specify which of the hearings they wish to
attend, and the approximate length of time needed for their
presentation and questions. On the day of the hearing, registration at
the hearing site will begin at noon for the 1 p.m. hearing and at 6
p.m. for the 7 p.m. hearing. Attendees who do not register in advance
will be allowed to speak after all scheduled speakers have been heard.
We ask that anyone who reads a statement provide two copies to the
presiding officer at the hearing. The presiding officer may limit the
time for each presentation in order to allow everyone wishing to speak
the opportunity to be heard.
The substance of this notice will be published in the newspapers
(English and Spanish) serving the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
[[Page 5618]] Done in Washington, DC, this 25th day of January
1995.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 95-2218 Filed 1-27-95; 8:45 am]
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